LA Bucket Brigade : Refinery Accident Database

About the Database

Motiva Enterprises (2719), Convent

Causal Factor: Start Up, Shut Down

LDEQ Accident Number Accident Date	Point Source(s)	Notes	Amount of Release
No LDEQ Reported 2005-10-25	SASTU and aeration basin	Cause: Shutdown of forward flow due to sulfuric acid in the wastewater syste Followup: Yes Notes: Will update status of incident in October DMR including volume of the transfer into south surge pond and sampling and monitoring results. Due to the shutdown of the forward flow through the process treatment system and the low pH the biological system was exposed to, we have experienced some biological die off. May see a spike in BOD and other parameters until biological system returns to full healt
80501 2005-06-23	Flare #3 (19G-301)	Cause: Start up of HGU Unit - the detection and repair of an analyzer regulator and a plugged level-control valve for a knock out dru Followup: No Notes: Stationed an operator to manually observe the levels. Diverted the stream from the flare to the Sulfur Recovery Unit. Steamed the plugged level control to remove any obstruction. Will review and improve Start up preparation and procedures to minimizethe likelihood and quanitity of excess emissions from similar causes in the future. Motiva will also examine and change the level control valve inspection and preventative maintenance procedures as necessary.	Sulfur Oxides: 25,773.0 pounds Hydrogen Sulfide: 49.0 pounds
79646 2005-06-07	Flares from trip in Flare Case Compressor System	Cause: Shutdown of refinery's Flare Gas Compressor System resulted in unplanned flaring Followup: No Notes: Courtesy notice.
77115 2005-02-19	VPS 2 Unit	Cause: Fire orginated during start up of VPS 2 Unit. Fire originated on piping insulation that was soaked with Light Cycle Gas Oi Followup: No Notes: Fire was immediately extinguished.	Light Cycle Gas Oil: 1.0 gallons
85774 2006-02-13	Flare No. 2 EIQ No. 19AH-901	Cause: FCCU Wet Gas compressor shut down due to gas turbine overspeed. The servo has been sent out to identify the cause of failur Followup: Yes Notes: The servo valve was replaced and the unit restarted. [Follow-up report to telephone report on 2/13/06]	Sulfur Dioxide: 94,211.0 pounds Hydrogen Sulfide: 252.0 pounds Nitrogen Oxide: 1,747.0 pounds
100304 2007-10-18	Tail Gas Treatment Unit No. 4 Incinerator Stack EPN 78H-101	Cause: unexpected shut down of Sulfur Recovery Unit No. Followup: No Notes: Under investigation - no remedial actions specified
No LDEQ Reported 2007-09-26	Tail Gas Treatment Unit 4 - EPN 78 H 101	Cause: unexpected shut down of the inline heater caused a unit upse Followup: No Notes: Under investigation - no remedial actions specified
No LDEQ Reported 2007-08-18	Tail Gas Treatment Unit No. 4 Incinerator Stack EPN 78H-101	Cause: while lighting the thermal reactor, visible emissions/pluming were observed from the TGTU sta Followup: No Notes: Letters states the release was BRQ
No LDEQ Reported 2007-02-17	None Reported	Cause: chain of events followed upon start up of Vacuum Pipestil Followup: No Notes: Minimal info provided. Possible exceedance of visible emissions noted.
93827 2007-02-08	Catalytic Reforming Unit	Cause: during CRU start up, the mixture of products in the exchanger and the temperature of the exchanger led to the combustion of the avjet fu Followup: No Notes: Start-up procedures will be modified to monitor the flowrates from the reformate splitter and the Avjet rundown to the heat exchangers to minimize thermal expansion and shock to the system during unit start-up	Aviation Fuel: 17.0 pounds
93779 2007-02-06	Refinery Flare No. 2 19AH-901	Cause: during start up of FCCU and shut down of the electric-motor driven pump, the turbine-driven pump failed to maintain adequate feed flow and both charge heaters tripped. During FCCU Start up the Main Fractionator vented to fla Followup: Yes Notes: Motiva revised the FCCU normal startup procedure to highlight the desire to slowly increase circulating reflux flow rates in an attempt to minimize pressure spikes due to water pockets.	Sulfur Dioxide: 3,680.0 pounds Hydrogen Sulfide: 10.0 pounds
106483 2008-06-17	Tail Gas Treating Unit 1 (17AH-103)	Cause: unplanned shutdown of boiler feed water system occurred which caused shutdown of refinery's boiler feed water syste Followup: Yes Notes: Motiva secured the electrical conduit for the pump controller on the day of the incident. Motiva will evaluate and set the BFW pump auto-starts to a specific minimum BFW system pressure. Motiva has set the auto-start to 725 psi as an interim measure.	Sulfur Dioxide: 85,334.0 pounds Hydrogen Sulfide: 716.0 pounds
102521 2008-01-23	VPS-1 Unit	Cause: a compressor undergoing shutdown began leaking lube oil and caught fi Followup: No Notes: FIRE. Level 1 Fire ignites but is contained on site. Letter states that all combusted materials were BRQ.
144945 2012-11-28	FCCU	Cause: On November 28, 2012, Motiva Convent Refinery reported a potential sulfur dioxide (SO2) release which occurred at the facility due to operational swings during the startup of the FCCU. Followup: No Notes: The incident was initially reported as a potential exceedance of the 500-lb Reportable Quantity (RQ) for sulfur dioxide (SO2). However, after further calculation, the total sulfur dioxide emissions from this incident were not above the reportable quantity.